Choosing a compound or recurve bow

[Crossbow]

I have a range of bows. Beginer id say compound, just because it gives you the exact draw back each time. Just my opinion tho

[tigs]

but anything bigger I.e deer and things go with a 55 lbs But if it were my partner (petite also)

what you would need a 60lb draw weight???

[21Wagtail]

As you have specifically mentioned that part of the reason is to have the bow to help to source food, then I would recommend that you would a Recurve bow and not use a Compound bow purely for the easy maintenance of a recurve and less problems that may occur with a compound bow.

get yourself a win n win recurve or a Hoyt recurve, from my years of shooting these are the two brands i would recommend

[ForgeCorvus]

but anything bigger I.e deer and things go with a 55 lbs But if it were my partner (petite also)

what you would need a 60lb draw weight???

I use a 75lb longbow

Higher the draw-weight the flatter the trajectory with the same weight and design of arrow, but because of "Archer's Paradox*" more powerful bows need stiffer arrows. Higher Spine (stiffer) shafts are either denser or thicker, and are therefore heavier..... So, you need a higher draw-weight to throw the arrow the same distance.

Primative bows are better from a long term survival perspective as you can make your own, both kit and bow

Compounds are more accurate then Recurves, which are more accurate then Longbows.
Think of it like this:
Technology+Skill=100%, if you've got a lot of one you don't need as much of the other.
The reason firearms killed the bow as a weapon of war is because you can teach a bunch of men to load & fire guns well enough in a few weeks. Archers almost have to be bred (hence all the laws requiring archery practice on a Sunday)



* Paradox is why when the bow is on target, the arrow points off to one side. and yet still hits because it bends around the bowstave and then flexes in flight.

[duckandcover]

I have a 45lb recurve but its only 62" long, most are 68-70". I much prefer short compact bows but they need a little more skill to shoot. I would say stay away from compounds as they are high strung precise Instruments that need tools like a bow press to string them and there is a lot more to go wrong. If you don't have time to train on a bow get a recurve crossbow. Easy to look after, string, maintain and any one who knows how to shoot an air gun could be quickly accurate with one. Trade off is that rate of fire is slow. Also field points are usless if you had to take down game, illegal in civilised UK, broadheads would be needed.